“Look here. The name of this place changed exactly about five hundred years ago. And the mountain over here disappeared because of a flood.”
Sileon pointed to one side of the map.
Just as he said, the place names written on the map and even the terrain itself were quite different from the present day.
But that did not mean the map was inaccurate.
The outline of the mountain ranges, the flow of the rivers, the arrangement of the cities…
There were clear traces that it had been drawn meticulously based on actual geography from somewhere.
It felt as though only the place names, borders, and some parts of the terrain had changed.
“…Then you’re saying he really gave us a map from five hundred years ago?”
“That’s right. It’s amazing that it’s been preserved in this condition, but getting your hands on a map like this in the first place wouldn’t be easy. Where on earth did he get it?”
“Hmm…”
No matter how I looked at it… that person didn’t seem like the type to have a hobby like collecting antiques.
Then either he drew it himself, or he bought it somewhere.
But whichever it was, a map from five hundred years ago was impossible to explain.
…No way he’s actually someone from five hundred years ago, right?
There was magic in this world, but imagining an ordinary person living through that much time was a bit… absurd.
There had been more than one absurd thing, but even so, that was crossing a line of imagination.
“Well, so is it to the point that we can’t find our way?”
At Valdick’s words, Sileon shook his head.
“No. It’s not that we can’t go, but our plans might get thrown off a little along the way.”
“That much, we can deal with.”
It wasn’t as if there was nothing bothering me, but for now, as long as we could go, that was enough.
After roughly confirming that there wouldn’t be any major problems with the journey, Valdick went back to moving the luggage, and Aileen followed after him.
I sent Sileon back over to Valdick as well to help move the bags, then slowly began going over the list of things I had to do.
‘I need to polish the armor too… and I’ll have to replace the bracers that got wrecked this time.’
After rolling around through one thing and another, small scratches had increased all over the armor, and those cheap bracers had been completely crushed from the impact to my shoulder.
There weren’t any proper shops in this village, so it would be hard to get new ones right away, but at the very least I had to get them repaired.
Fortunately, there was a small smithy on one side of the village.
I was sitting in a corner of the inn, making various repair plans, when—
Clatter.
A steaming plate was set down in front of me.
When I raised my head, the innkeeper, Meni, was looking down at me with a smile.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Have this while you work.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“No, I’m the one who should be thanking you. I don’t think I properly thanked you earlier… I have to do at least this much to feel at ease.”
He waved his hands and bowed his head repeatedly.
Then he called over a little child from behind him.
“Bill, you should thank him too.”
“Thank you, big brother!”
“Uh, uh… yeah.”
In truth, rather than me saving him, Malay had done everything.
It seemed she had told Bill to keep his mouth shut too.
Mr. Meni and the villagers all seemed to think I had done it alone.
“If there’s anything you need, call me anytime.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you for the meal.”
Mr. Meni bowed his head and quietly returned to the kitchen.
Maybe because so much had happened, I hadn’t particularly felt hungry.
But once steaming food was actually in front of me, my mouth began to water before I knew it.
Come to think of it, the only thing I’d had since breakfast was that strange potion.
‘…In the end, we do all this to eat and live.’
Just as I was about to call the owner back to order food for the others as well—
Creak.
Along with the sound of the door opening, several mercenaries stepped into the inn.
They were the mercenaries from Uncle Nas’s group.
They all looked somewhat drained, but as if this was something they were used to in this line of work, they didn’t openly show their grief.
One of them saw me and spoke.
“Oh, I heard you’d come… so it was true.”
“Liv?”
“Hello.”
Without a word, they settled into empty seats and naturally ordered drinks.
Mr. Meni’s expression was not good as he took their order.
It wasn’t his fault, but the fact that the people who had gone out to find his son had been killed seemed to have left him with at least a small sense of guilt.
“That Monta… no, that monster, it’s definitely dead, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Fuck, what the hell is all this…”
After fiddling with their cups for a while, they glanced around and said,
“The people left right now… this is all of us?”
“Yeah.”
…There were far fewer than I’d expected.
The Nas Mercenary Corps had originally been a fairly sizable group of well over ten people, made up of former village militia members.
Not all of them were from this village, and they had been wandering from village to village before staying here.
But now, there were exactly five of them.
Just how many people had been killed in that short span of time?
Only the silently emptying cups spoke of the weight of it.
Only after they had downed three, then four cups did they slowly begin to open their mouths.
…Perhaps that was their own way of enduring it.
They kept pouring drinks and chuckling among themselves, then suddenly turned to me and said,
“You’re coming to the funeral tomorrow, right?”
“Yes, I should go. I was planning to go see Uncle Nas in a bit too.”
“That man’s fine. If anything, he’s sturdier now than when his arm was still intact.”
“Is that so?”
A brief laugh went around, and then I carefully asked,
“Then… what are you going to do about the mercenary corps?”
He scratched his head and said,
“For now, we’re going to replenish our numbers and keep going a little longer. We’re still a bit short on money. If it comes down to it, we’ll have to go to war or a dungeon or something.”
“Ah…”
By modern standards, the word mercenary immediately brought battlefields to mind, but this place was a little different.
There were many cases where people earned modest money by standing guard in villages like me, or taking charge of simple transport and odd jobs.
It was no different from being a laborer, but even so, that too was mercenary work.
But in the end, if you wanted to earn truly big money, the methods were fixed.
War, and dungeons.
War was exactly as it sounded: taking someone’s money and going out to fight in their place.
It was simple, and there was plenty of demand… but it was just as dangerous.
Compared to that, dungeons were a little different.
Places where you had to move with your own body and find treasure with your own eyes.
Profit wasn’t guaranteed, but the peak could perhaps be even higher than war.
Especially if relics were found, it was literally a chance to strike it rich in one go.
I had almost never seen one myself, but according to rumor, most of them were close to items with special powers.
There had been rumors of a relic in Garnian Village before too.
…I wonder if it’s really been found by now.
I wonder if that rumor was true.
After calling the owner over and finishing the order for my companions as well, I was thinking of stepping out for a bit.
Just then, as if right on cue, the party members who had finished organizing the luggage entered the inn.
“Today’s meal is modest.”
“I prefer things like that.”
“Ah, I like days with lots of meat.”
As they each tossed out comments and sat down, I asked Valdick,
“Is it roughly all done?”
“Gulp—”
After draining a cup of water, he pointed outside the window with his chin and said,
“Almost everything’s loaded. We set aside a few pieces of our equipment.”
“Aren’t there things we need to entrust for repair?”
“We should buy new ones. Hey, we can’t keep wearing this forever.”
Valdick tapped the hem of his clothing.
What he was currently wearing was cloth armor reinforced with thin plates.
At a glance, there were marks here and there from having been scratched after rolling around a few times.
Of course, since Sileon provided ranged support, it wasn’t as urgent for him, but Valdick was a warrior who stood at the front.
Naturally, he needed proper equipment.
“Let’s stop by a city on the way and take care of equipment first.”
“Mine too! Please make sure you buy mine too!”
“There’s nothing for you, you brat. You don’t even do anything, so what are you asking us to buy?”
“How do I not do anything? I drive the carriage every time, carry luggage too— mmph!”
I silently shoved a lump of bread into Sileon’s mouth as he made a fuss beside me.
“Mmph… ngh, pffah!”
Leaving Sileon’s grumbling behind, I said to Aileen,
“We’re stopping by Malay’s house again tomorrow morning, so pack your things in advance.”
“Yes.”
Aileen nodded and answered briefly.
It seemed like a little disappointment still remained, but at that level, she was probably calming down.
***
The next morning.
I woke early, as I had grown used to.
We finished a light breakfast, but while eating, Valdick stared at my face for a long while and asked,
“Why do you look so haggard? Didn’t sleep well?”
“No, I slept fine. Do I look that way?”
At my answer, Aileen added,
“You look strangely pale.”
“If you’re tired, I’ll go by myself.”
Even Sileon added a word.
Seeing as everyone said something, it seemed my appearance really wasn’t good.
…Well, I could guess the reason.
Last night, the moment I lay down on the familiar bed of this other world—
Once again, I was summoned to “that place.”
*
‘Yeah, it really was an absurd monster.’
On the inn bed where I had lain down.
The moment I closed my eyes, a familiar space unfolded.
[You have reached a section. Please select a perk.]
Considering the monster’s might, it was only natural that I should have leveled up.
Paang—
Along with the familiar sound, cards floated into the air.
As expected, the composition was similar to before.
_______________________
[Increase Maximum Mana]
[Increase Maximum Stamina]
[Increase Maximum Mana]
_______________________
There was nothing special, but seeing two mana increase cards appear, it seemed my luck was fairly good this time.
One was white, and one was green.
‘This is decent enough.’
I quickly finished making my choice and was waiting to return when another message came.
[You have reached a branching point. Loading the list of skills that can be enhanced.]
_______________________
Enhance [Blue Magic: Condensation]
Enhance [Blue Magic: Waterflow Barrier]
Enhance [Blue Magic: Water Bomb]
Enhance [Blue Magic: Blue Eye]
Enhance [Blue Magic: Water Prison]
[Passive Skill: Mana Muscle Growth]
_______________________
I had leveled up, but contrary to what I expected, it was an enhancement.
Was this already my fifteenth level-up?
Looking at the list window scrolling down, it felt as though it was telling me just how far I had come.
‘Let’s see, what should I enhance?’
As I slowly scanned the list, a card in the far corner caught my eye.
[Passive Skill: Mana Muscle Growth]
[Your maximum strength increases by a portion of your maximum mana.]
A simple yet powerful effect.
Especially for me, who focused on magic, it was a rare passive card that supplemented physical ability.
‘…Not bad.’
However, there was no particular reason for me, a mage, to raise my strength.
There had been a time before when I had chosen [Strength] once.
But the result was… only a level slightly above that of an ordinary person.
In other words, it was like I had barely risen off the floor.
I did always keep close combat in mind, but even so, it was ambiguous to choose it while giving up something else.
‘It’d be better to just stick to the mage path.’
Especially when I recalled the fight with that monster this time, what I felt most painfully was my lack of offensive power.
I could hold out with [Water Prison], but I lacked a finishing blow.
Literally, I had no decisive strike.
‘…As expected, I should enhance Water Bomb.’
The moment I made my decision, the enhancement selection activated.
[Enhancing “Blue Magic: Water Bomb.”]
One of the following options will be applied at random:
-Power
-Casting Speed
-Maximum Number
-Mana Efficiency
-Range
-Additional Effect
The card was absorbed, and a small description window appeared in the air.
[Enhancing “Maximum Number” of “Blue Magic: Water Bomb.”]
[The “number that can be cast simultaneously” for “Blue Magic: Water Bomb” has increased.]
“Hmm… not bad, I guess.”
Honestly, since I had been aiming for an enhancement to [Power] or [Additional Effect], “Maximum Number” was unexpected.
Of course, simply being able to increase one shot to two also meant that the damage output itself doubled.
But at the same time, it also meant the mana consumed would increase by that much.
‘…It’s a bit plain.’
I had expected something flashier and more powerful, but it was more “straightforward” than I thought.
For a moment, I remembered myself getting excited while imagining an attack spell that exploded like fragments in battle.
‘Still, it’s not bad.’
After all, not being able to fire consecutively had always been a problem.
Water Bomb had a fairly long delay.
Now I could prepare several at once and push forward in waves.
It would give me a considerable advantage in ambushes or preemptive attacks.
[You have absorbed a fragment. Please select a price.]
‘Damn it, I forgot about this.’
A low vibration immediately rang in my ears.
Wooong—
And along with it, red cards unfolded one by one.
___________________________________
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Strength]
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Mana]
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Life]
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Speed]
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Greed]
___________________________________
“Damn it, this again?”
The red cards squirmed dizzily.
A foreign sensation, both familiar and unfamiliar, struck my brain.
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Greed]
[Randomly select one card from among these and enhance that card by one level.]
That one card at the very end especially grated on my eyes.
‘…You just had to crawl out again.’
The first time I saw it, I had chosen it without thinking.
I thought it was worth trying.
The result had been disastrous.
[Price of Strength] had appeared, and in the end, my mana had been reduced.
After going through that, there was no reason to choose it again.
There was no need to hesitate.
I quickly pressed [Price of Mana], and at the same time, squeezed my eyes shut.
A familiar yet unpleasant foreign sensation spread from deep inside my body.
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Mana]
[Maximum mana increases slightly, and maximum stamina decreases minutely.]
In an instant, it felt as though my chest caved in.
As if my lungs shrank and my muscles dried out.
‘…Ha, it dropped again.’
Following last time, my stamina had decreased once more.
Because of that, thinking about it now, it was only natural that I looked pale when they saw me in the morning.